Back to Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT
Vanderbilt University

Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT

ChatGPT and other large language models are going to be more important in your life and business than your smartphone, if you use them right. ChatGPT can tutor your child in math, generate a meal plan and recipes, write software applications for your business, help you improve your personal cybersecurity, and that is just in the first hour that you use it. This course will teach you how to be an expert user of these generative AI tools. The course will show amazing examples of how you can tap into these generative AI tools' emergent intelligence and reasoning, how you can use them to be more productive day to day, and give you insight into how they work. Large language models respond to instructions and questions posed by users in natural language statements, known as “prompts”. Although large language models will disrupt many fields, most users lack the skills to write effective prompts. Expert users, who understand how to write good prompts, are orders of magnitude more productive and can unlock significantly more creative uses for these tools. This course introduces students to the patterns and approaches for writing effective prompts for large language models. Anyone can take the course and the only required knowledge is basic computer usage skills, such as using a browser and accessing ChatGPT. Students will start with basic prompts and build towards writing sophisticated prompts to solve problems in any domain. By the end of the course, students will have strong prompt engineering skills and be capable of using large language models for a wide range of tasks in their job, business, personal life, and education, such as writing, summarization, game play, planning, simulation, and programming.

Status: Prompt Engineering
Status: ChatGPT
BeginnerCourse19 hours

Featured reviews

JM

5.0Reviewed Jun 12, 2025

Very easy to digest and each section is explained using clear examples. The instructor has a way of simplifying something that could be perceived as tricky and complex! Enjoyed this course very much!

RW

5.0Reviewed Jan 22, 2025

Dr. White does a fantastic job of breaking down the complexities of GenAI and delivers excellent coursework that provides the student with foundational tools for harnessing the power of ChatGPT.

JG

5.0Reviewed Apr 11, 2024

When I first listened to the 1st lecture I thought I had made a mistake, but then it dawned on me what the Dr White was trying to show, it blew my mind and I showed it to my wife and son! Well done.

TT

5.0Reviewed Aug 4, 2023

This is really inspiring. Easy to understand with the help of examples. Jules you have done a great job.My two cents. Enriching the content with more printed examples would be very helpful.

RH

5.0Reviewed Jul 7, 2025

This class is very informative and easy to understand for a beginner like myself. I would recommend it to everyone who is interested to learn how to write better prompt but don't know how to start.

MM

5.0Reviewed Nov 29, 2023

A lot of fun, and it takes you from the basics of prompt engineering to complex but extremely useful patterns and formulae. Grab this course and you'll be "programming" in plain English in no time.

HF

5.0Reviewed Nov 8, 2024

The course was well presented and easy to follow. The exercises were appropriate and reinforced the material. I am now ready to improve on the prompts that I have been using with ChatGPT.

SS

5.0Reviewed May 31, 2025

The pace of the course and explanation given by Professor Jule's were easy to understand and comprehend Material -Video content and transcript , assignment were user friendly and very well laid out

WA

5.0Reviewed Apr 17, 2024

I really loved it, I used chatgpt to understand the videos and I'm glad coursera offers context under the videos, this helped me finish the certificate in not a long time, all it takes is dedication.

AC

5.0Reviewed Dec 12, 2024

Jules White is a tremendous teacher. Breaks complex topics into easy-to-understand chunks and relatable, real-world demos. I learned so much from these courses and am looking forward to more.

SL

5.0Reviewed Mar 27, 2025

Charismatic professor that explained the topics in a light-hearted way, thus making learning enjoyable. He explained a variety of topics in a short amount of time which was very much appreciated.

KK

5.0Reviewed Oct 31, 2024

I gained quite a few insights about prompt engineering and now have a better understanding how a LLM works. The professor's knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject make this course enjoyable.